Determining which draft eligible quarterbacks will earn the coveted “franchise quarterback” label is the most difficult, yet most important, call an NFL general manager makes. After all, college success doesn’t always indicate a bright NFL future at quarterback.

That’s what Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel will face in coming months. Along with a level of uncertainty that comes with all players, Manziel’s lack of ideal size and his curious behavior off the field throughout the offseason make him an easy source of doubt. It’s easy to see why teams may hesitate to give Manziel the keys to the franchise.

But while his off-field persona may be an issue throughout the draft process, Manziel has shown enough on it over the past year to be a starter-worthy draft selection. He may not be the prototypical quarterback, but Manziel has a unique skill set that just might make him an NFL starter one day.

The negatives

The most obvious concern for Manziel’s NFL future is his height. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, he may realistically measure slightly below the 6-foot mark teams want. From now to the foreseeable future, quarterbacks less than 6-2 will be compared to Drew Brees and/or Russell Wilson. Both of those passers have a very smooth, compact, and high finishing throwing motion. It gives them a throwing height of closer to 6-4, as opposed to the 6-0 level Manziel generally throws from. Manziel’s lack of a high release point will be an instant problem on drag and interior hitch routes.

Adding to his concerns, Manziel has developed (though improved in 2013) bad habits with his footwork in the pocket. His steps in his dropback are inconsistent, leading him to unnecessarily throw off balance. He has improved, especially on designed, in-pocket half-field reads, but he still makes far too many throws more difficult than he has to. An elusive runner, his desire to make defensive players miss appears to also be a factor in his inconsistent footwork.

Finally, his lack of in-pocket progression work is disconcerting, especially considering he’ll need to be very efficient pre- and post-snap to make up for his lack of height. Wilson and Brees rely on intense film study, use of hot-reads pre-snap and their ability to recognize how the defense is trying to attack them post-snap. Manziel doesn’t yet consistently showcase this next-level ability, partially because of his success as a runner and partially thanks to Kevin Sumlin not forcing him to win from the pocket.

The positives

Manziel’s creativity, elusiveness and production against top caliber defenses shouldn’t be overlooked as “college-only” success factors. Sumlin’s offense, as well as receiver Mike Evans’ physicality and ball skills, certainly deserve ample credit for Texas A&M’s offensive success the past two seasons. But Manziel is the only quarterback to throw for four touchdowns against a Nick Saban-led Alabama defense in one game earlier this year. He beat them with his feet first , forcing Alabama’s NFL prospect-filled defense to play off balance.

Manziel has elite quickness and a young Michael Vick-type escape-ability from the pocket. He can evade rushers and either attack open field as a runner or find open receivers downfield. While he’s had the luxury of three future NFL starters as his offensive tackles (Luke Joeckel last year, Jake Matthews and Cedric Ogbuehi this year), Manziel has consistently been able to make one or more rushers miss in their pursuit, forcing teams to have five or six defenders in the box against him and allowing for the potential of more one-on-one matchups.

Manziel has an adequate arm to make throws across the field, especially when he’s set. While he does labor at times when he throws fastballs past 15-20 yards, he’s able to generate ample velocity on a large majority of his throws. He has resorted this year to more and more jump balls for his Anquan Boldin-type receiver, Mike Evans, but his placement on in-breaking routes, vertical throws and throws off his initial read have all been on target.

While it’s not necessarily a “box” on the scouting report, his craftiness as a quarterback is an innate skill that many undersized and less-talented quarterbacks were able to use to defy the odds and have NFL success.

How he may fit in the NFL

Not every NFL team will have Manziel on their draft board. Whether it’s because of the team’s current quarterback situation, concerns about his off the field antics, or his lack of size for their offense, he won’t be considered by more than half the teams in the NFL unless he reaches the tail end of the draft.

However, today’s NFL may be even more open to quarterback prospects like Manziel than ever before. The addition of the read option to most NFL playbooks, the success of running threats like Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson early in their NFL careers, and the initial novelty of Chip Kelly’s offense are all signs that this trend of athletic, running quarterbacks is here to stay.

If used correctly, Manziel’s unique skills could translate from college excitement to NFL wins. The offense needs to be tailored initially to his threat as a runner, forcing defenses to contain and spy him. Also, he’ll need at least one, big-bodied target, as Evans has been for him in his Texas A&M career. Finally, he’ll need time and patience before he can find consistency in the NFL.

Pinning Manziel to one NFL comparison isn’t an easy task, as he’s such a unique talent who simply wouldn’t have gotten much of an NFL chance 10 years ago. However, I think he falls somewhere between Doug Flutie, thanks to his size concerns but also better than you’d expect arm talent, and Tony Romo, thanks to his creativity and improvisation as a quarterback. While that may not be a glowing review or a sign that he’s a future Super Bowl winner, having those combined skills could make for a tremendously fun offense to watch and a brutal one to slow down.

Ideally, he’ll stay for at least one more season at Texas A&M before making the NFL jump, but that seems unlikely. If that’s the case, I’ll stand by the third-round grade we gave him after last year’s draft , with the potential for him to end up in the second round, depending on team need. However, that is primarily excluding off the field issues, which may either be overblown or a major deterrent for an NFL team to draft him in the Top 100.

Some NFL franchises will view Manziel as intriguing and appealing, while others will find him sporadic and his skills non-translatable. When his NFL Draft process time does come, he’ll have plenty of questions and concerns to address. He may not be perfect, nor prototypical, nor clean cut. But he has impressed enough on the field, from a scouting perspective, to earn a chance to play quarterback at the NFL level.